Australian Education Providers Plan Merger, IPO

Three closely held Australian vocational and training businesses are planning to merge and list in an initial public offering that will raise around 200 million Australian dollars (US$182 million), people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The deal, involving Avana, Bawm Group and Customer Service Institute of Australia, is targeted at investors seeking exposure to Australia’s growing education sector, the people said.

The trio has appointed Macquarie Group and UBS AG as joint lead managers on one of the year’s largest IPOs, slated for the fourth quarter. The company may be named Vocation Ltd., but that’s not been finalized, according to one of the people.

Avana’s minority shareholders include former Macquarie Capital head Michael Carapiet, who retired in 2011, and the bank’s former head of global resources John Prendiville, who became its part-time chairman in 2010, before retiring. Though Mr. Prendiville is a director of Avana, he won’t be on the board of the listed company, one of the people said.

Avana’s name is taken from an expanse of land in North Greenland, Avannaa, according to its website. The company was founded in 2002 and provides learning and development training to the hospitality, tourism, retail and community-service industries.

Associated Press

Bawm Group, which operates under brands including Buildit Learning, Diverse Learning and RTO Edge, focuses on industries like transport and logistics, manufacturing, construction and health. CSIA, which has been in operation since 1997, focuses on customer service.

The IPO fills a gap in Australia’s listed education sector following Providence Equity Partners’ buyout of private education provider Study Group from Australia’s CHAMP Private Equity for A$660 million in 2010, and Cirrus Business Investments Ltd.’s acquisition of education and training provider Careers Australia Group Ltd. last month in a deal valued at A$117 million.

Investors currently have the option of investing in university program provider Navitas Ltd., which has risen 34.7% in the year-to-date, giving it a market value of A$2.4 billion. The only other sizable Australian education-related stock is G8 Education Ltd, a childcare-services provider which has rallied 75% in the year-to-date, giving it a market value of A$779 million.